BREAKING NEWS

BREAKING NEWS

Judkins gets ’Cats back to All-Star Series

The Marshalltown High School baseball team will be represented in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association’s annual All-Star Series for the seventh year in a row, this time by player and coach.

Bobcat senior Blake Judkins and head coach Steve Hanson will be a part of the Large Schools West squad, Judkins as an infielder and Hanson as an assistant coach. The four-team series will be played Aug. 8-11 in the Des Moines Area, including West Des Moines Valley and Principal Park.

Judkins’ selection to the 16-player Large Schools West team makes him the ninth Bobcat player to be picked for the All-Star Series in the last seven years, following the likes of Kyle Carnahan (2012), Jake Whaley (2011), Nick Thimesch (2010), Jimmy Six and T.J. Flanagan (2009), Tyler Peschong and Zach Thompson (2008) and Austin Swartz (2007).

Judkins, who will attend Central College in the fall, batted .355 with 10 doubles and 25 RBIs for the Bobcats this summer. He went 6-5 on the mound with a 3.52 earned run average, striking out 73 batters in 69 2/3 innings pitched.

During the four-day event, players will be recognized at an Honors Brunch Banquet on Aug. 10 at the Sheraton Hotel in West Des Moines. They will also be guests of the Iowa Cubs for their Aug. 9 game against Fresno.

Players are responsible for soliciting monetary donations to cover lodging and food expenses for the event. Those wishing to help Judkins can contact him at (641) 485-3907.

Hanson will serve as an assistant coach on the Large Schools West squad. Spencer’s Brian Dirkx will be the head coach and Denison-Schleswig’s Don Lyons will also serve as an assistant. The Large West squad will face the Small Schools West unit on Aug. 8 at 5 p.m. at West Des Moines Valley, and it will meet the Small Schools East team on Aug. 9 at noon at Principal Park. The Large West and Large East teams square off in a nine-inning affair on Aug. 10 at 5:30 p.m., but the venue has not yet been determined.

Bracketed play as a result of the round-robin format will commence at 10 a.m. on Aug. 11 with the third-place game, and the championship contest will start at approximately 12:15 p.m.